REPORT: Philadelphia Courts among “best in country”

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Philadelphia’s
courts are among the best in the country according to a new report released
today by Taking Back Our Courts.Citing independent data, the report concludes that Philadelphia’s courts
have been maligned by innuendo, false information and a well-funded campaign by
pro-corporate lobbying organizations.

The new report, Justice for
Philadelphia Courts: A qualitative and quantitative analysis on the quality of
justice administered by Philadelphia Courts, is the first to combine all of
the most recent data available measuring the effectiveness and fairness of
Philadelphia’s courts.

The most recent official reports paint
a far different picture than the portrait constructed by national special
interest groups. Far from being a “judicial hellhole” overrun by
frivolous cases, the data show that Philadelphia’s court system not only has an
appropriate number of cases, but it handles them quickly and efficiently with
no obvious bias for or against one side.

The report found the following:

●The National
Center for State Courts praised Philadelphia’s Complex Litigation Center (CLC)
for its high levels of success in
accuracy and fairness of a large number of complex cases in its
courts.Furthermore, the
NCSC
recognizes that the Philadelphia court's handling of civil jury cases is now better than that of any large urban trial court in the
United States.

●Comparing the plaintiff median amounts awarded in tort
trials to other courts in the most populous counties in the United States, Philadelphia courts are significantly
below the national median. For example, the median award amount of winners
in New York, NY was $227,000, in Miami (Dade), FL it was $128,000 and in Los
Angeles, CA it was $106,000.Philadelphia tort trial plaintiffs won a
median amount of $20,000.

●The Philadelphia courts have been awarded a number of accolades. The list in the report highlights
only a sampling of the awards that the First District Court has won over the
past 7 years.

●Philadelphia
ranks in the bottom 30% of major
metropolitan areas in terms of median
final damage amounts awarded to plaintiffs in tort trials.

“For the first time someone is
reporting on what is actually happening in Philadelphia’s courts” said Michael
Morrill, executive director of Keystone Progress.“It is important to look at verifiable data when assessing
our courts.”

Recent attacks by well-funded
corporate lobbying groups have been driving the narrative that Philadelphia
courts are among the worst in the nation. This includes the American Tort
Reform Association's (ATRA) targeting of Philadelphia courts in its most recent
Judicial Hellholes report.

The new report cites independent
sources who concluded that the "evidence" in the Judicial Hellhole's report is "substantively inaccurate and
methodologically flawed."

Recent reforms made by Philadelphia
courts, in particular those initiated by Common Pleas Court Judge W.
Herron, increasingly have been seen to be the result of the courts bending to
outside political pressure by extreme conservative groups like the American
Tort Reform Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

“Our courts should be independent of
outside influence,” added Morrill.“They should operate to assure justice for all parties, not because
lobbying groups have exerted pressure based on lies and misinformation.”

Taking Back Our
Courts is a civil justice project designed to protect Philadelphia courts and
promote fair access to justice for consumers. Keystone Progress is
Pennsylvania’s largest online progressive organization, with over 260,000
subscribers. KP uses the Internet and new media to organize online at the
state and local level; and utilizes cutting-edge earned media strategies to
promote a progressive agenda and counter right-wing misinformation.